This is the 79th article in the Spotlight on IT series. If you'd be interested in writing an article on the subject of backup, security, storage, virtualization, mobile, networking, wireless, DNS or MSPs for the series PM Eric to get started.

Why is BlackBerry the mobile device of choice for many businesses? Surely they can use iPhone or Android devices. For me it’s simple: You want to use the right tool for the right job. Would you use a spoon to dig a hole in the ground to plant a tree? Sure, you can, but it would take a lot of time and sweat. Or, you could use a shovel instead, which is better designed to do the job.

Although you can use other devices in the workplace, there are a couple of potential issues that you do not have to deal with in a BlackBerry environment.

Business focus
BlackBerrys are superior for the enterprise market, where they outpace iPhone or Android devices. But what about the apps? One of the biggest knocks we hear against RIM is the lack of apps. For me, this is actually a plus.

We don’t want employees using their phones to play Angry Birds or editing cat photos. Workers need to do basic work functions — phone calls, emails, opening Word, Excel and PDF files — and they need to be able to do these things securely.

For example, a couple weeks after giving a user a brand-new phone, he came over complaining the battery sucked. He requested a new battery or a new phone. Closer inspection revealed that he had installed two apps that were constantly pulling data and draining the battery. I explained the reason behind the battery problems — these two seemingly harmless apps, a chat app and a picture-sharing app. Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem if he was on a personal phone, but on a company device, personal apps are discouraged. With a BlackBerry you can lock down the user’s ability to do this.

Lower cost
Here in Canada with a plan, we can get BlackBerry Curves for free. If you want the higher-end Bold 9900, it’s only $99 on the same contract plan. In our office we have 35 devices, and even with that small number of devices the savings are huge. An iPhone on the same contract plan is just under $400 and if you’re company has 300-plus users, mobile phones costs can add up astronomically.
Better battery life

I can easily use my BlackBerry for eight hours and still have 60 percent battery life remaining. If I happen to forget to charge the unit and I’m traveling, I can easily and cheaply get a micro USB cable — the globally accepted standard of choice for connecting and charging USB devices. Compare this to the expensive luxury prices of Apple’s chargers and cables. Plus, when the battery is no longer charging effectively, I can replace it — an option not available with the iPhone.

BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server)
BlackBerry Enterprise Server: This alone makes my life as an administrator so much easier. I can manage all my devices and get information when needed, and I can apply customization and policies to suit my corporate needs. It allows for secure email communication between our mail server and the BlackBerry device, I can lock out a device as a precaution if a user has misplaced their device, or, in cases of theft, I can issue a more destructive command — wiping all the data and stopping communication with the server.

Not too long ago, one of our users was travelling out of province and their car was broken in to. Their laptop and BlackBerry were stolen. Within a few minutes I was able to essentially turn the phone into a brick, keeping our corporate data secure.

These features make BlackBerry an attractive solution for businesses who need their workers to be on the road while having the ability to access information they need to do their work.

Tried and trusted technology
Then there’s the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement. On the surface it’s a great idea, but the infrastructure with third-party solutions is still in its infancy. I’m not sure I’m willing to trust my company’s intellectual property to solutions that haven’t been in use very long and may not be truly tested.

On the other hand, RIM has been around the block a few times. It’s known for security. It just works. RIM provides the end-to-end solution from the backend where the servers do the work and the frontend with its mobile phones communicating using this backend.

I’ve been in the IT field for nearly 20 years and I’ve seen huge leaps and bounds in technology. The mobile phones of today are more powerful than desktop computers from the ’90s — especially when you consider they now have dual- and quad-core processors inside. They’ve made work and communication easier and more convenient, but with this convenience comes a host of security concerns. Employees are carrying corporate intellectual property in an easy-to-misplace device in their pocket.

BlackBerry devices continue to be attractive to me because of the security and encryption systems and the ease at which I can push policies to enforce passwords and ensure the company remains secure.

It’s hard to predict who will dominate the future of business mobile phones. One thing is certain: When it comes to mobile devices in the workplace, they must be reliable, secure and provide the tools and services business users need. BlackBerry does just that, and has been for years.

From the BoingBoing article that discusses the recent loss of a patent lawsuit by RIM, to the tune of 147 big ones, I found this quote to be especially apt: "When people use the term 'death spiral', it implies the existence of a useful aerodynamic characteristic influencing the descent. RIM's looks more like a death plunge."

My practice has all of our primary staff to iPhones or Android phones. IMHO, one would have to be crazy to invest in Blackberry anything.

I am so over Blackberry. If they could disassociate the BES services with their network, that'd (maybe) be another story. But that last time their network went down? Remember that? For a week? That was the final straw in our book. Our last couple BB users switched to iPhone and never looked back.

I understand that BES grants you granularity that no other service used to provide, but there are so many MDM solutions that fill this niche that can help you with your devices (including RIM now, right?), BES + RIM hardware is just not a trustworthy option any more for me.

While you have great points, BB is dead for business users because business users want relevant apps that BB just does not have. Their app store is an embarrasement. Even @ CES, they focused on the playbook....which is nice hardware, but compared to it's competition's usefulness....is not very competitive.

Let's face it - The user's are getting their day, they don't care how they get it...but they are finding the business case to get whatever they want. Without steadfast decision makers, BYOD is becoming a reality in many organizations, and the choice is not BB by far.

All I have to add is that the day I removed BES and fired up our new iPhones was the single happiest day I have had at my current employer. I can now do actual network work instead of resetting phones every other day because they magically stopped syncing.

I would have to say RIM with its many strengths has a huge image problem on top of all of their other issues. I think it just may be to much for them to overcome. Their only saving grace could also be related to impressions, like secure e-mail. I find it hard to believe that a company now days could basically setup an entire network to claim it's more secure. In the end it's still going to use a cellular network. I will hand them the battery life arguement. Man they have that figured out. I wish all the rest could come close and I'd be a lot happier.

We are actually getting rid of BlackBerry's. Sure, they are easy to manage from an Systems side of things (we have BES), but they are costing us. How? Time... We actually purchase the BlackBerry Bold because the Curve is such a... well, crappy device. We have 200 BlackBerry's, and we spend at least 2 hours a day supporting them. Whether it's email issues, screen issues, syncing issues, it all comes down to the device. Our older devices run great, the newer devices are terrible. The build quality is terrible. I can't tell you how many BlacKberry's we send away a month for the "white screen issue", it's at least 5. Sending those devices away, dealing with the dealer, and the warranty repair is time consuming.

And then there's the future of RIM. BES is going away and is being replaced with a products called Mobile Fusion. BES is required to support the older devices, and Mobile Fusion is required for the newer devices. In order to see an older device in Fusion (single pane of glass), you have to purchase another CAL. This is ridiculous. And besides, the software we all love is no more. BES will be dead in a few years and instead we will be relying on Mobile Fusion which is a child compared to AirWatch or MobileIron.

We tested iPhones with AirWatch and we have the same problem every other business is having - management. BES is great when it comes to Corporate Apps, because they just work. There's no need for VPN. With third-party MDM solutions, you need to push out VPN settings to receive the same functionality. iPhones were a no go for us. The cost to implement a VPN solution that is supported by the MDM solution is too high.

Android? We didn't even bother. Android differs too much from device to device and it would probably be a nightmare to support. I love Android, but I can't see it in the Enterprise. Not to mention the massive amount of Malware. Maybe in the future?

But what about Windows Phone? Well, don't bother with Windows Phone 7/7.5, they lack acceptable ActiveSync support. We've tested it. I love Windows Phone, it's amazing. Actually, I like it better than my iPhone (and that's saying something). But the Enterprise support is lacking.

We're actually waiting for Windows Phone 8 and Exchange 15 before we make any moves. I think you would be crazy to switch from BlackBerry to iPhone right now. iPhone lacks...everything. Don't get me wrong, I own an iPhone and I love it. But when it comes to mobile device management, you basically have no control at all.

So if you're thinking about implementing mobile devices or switching mobile platforms, wait. Wait until Microsoft shows us what they're packing in Windows Phone 8. If you've never used a Windows Phone, go try it. I thought Tiles were silly, until I clued in that they were live tiles changing as information is received. Or at least wait for the final build of iOS 6.

There is one problem I see with your assertion that fewer apps is better. While I understand what you're saying about not wanting company property full of apps that aren't work related, the idea that people should be required to carry two phones is silly. A better solution, in my opinion, is to let people provide their own smart phones, and reimburse them X amount of dollars monthly. Give them a list of devices you are willing to support (Android, iPhone, Windows, etc.), and let them pick their own. Not only will people not be able to complain about battery life, limited apps, etc., but you won't have to pay for BES licenses.

All I have to add is that the day I removed BES and fired up our new iPhones was the single happiest day I have had at my current employer. I can now do actual network work instead of resetting phones every other day because they magically stopped syncing.

I'd agree with Rafi one one point, BES. In a small environment RIM has now allowed for 100+ user BB environment to use the free Express version.

But there are several MDM (Mobile Device Manager) solutions available for both iPhones and Androids that all IT to control what applications are allowed to be installed. But of course there is a cost to this solution vs RIM, which is currently giving it away. (I personally feel they did that to try to keep market share)

It's true almost nothing has as good a battery life as a non-touch screen BB, but who cares? Most people expect more from their phone than a track pad and a tiny screen these days, and are willing to deal with the associated short battery life.

I'm not specifically looking for BB to perish, mainly because competition is good for the consumer. But if RIM don't bring their game to today's tech level I don't see how they will survive. Just look at Microsoft and the new Windows Phone. They hung onto their old solution entirely too long and I'm not sure they will ever really make it back into the mainstream.

There is one problem I see with your assertion that fewer apps is better. While I understand what you're saying about not wanting company property full of apps that aren't work related, the idea that people should be required to carry two phones is silly. A better solution, in my opinion, is to let people provide their own smart phones, and reimburse them X amount of dollars monthly. Give them a list of devices you are willing to support (Android, iPhone, Windows, etc.), and let them pick their own. Not only will people not be able to complain about battery life, limited apps, etc., but you won't have to pay for BES licenses.

This is what we do. A. It is easier to make them support something they picked, B. They have full authority over the account and can get support easily from the carrier.

RIM is going to get broken up and sold off in pieces. Their contract hardware manufacturer is pulling out, RIM has pushed BB 10 to "maybe" 2013, and developers have stopped developing apps for the platform. The latest stat I saw showed BB at 9% market share, about a 4% drop from the prior quarter.

Apple and Android of no such devices and I would not trust my personal data to Open Source development such as the Android dveices to many people writing for it

RIM has strict guidelines software developers need to follow

We implemented Good for Enterprise to combat the security woes of iPhones / Androids, then shut our BB server DOWN. We plan on BBQ'ing the thing in a couple of weeks, then setting off fireworks from inside its charred carcass.

They may have been the enterprise solution back in the day, but then they became a enterprise problem for most IT shops, including us.

We have a few holdouts that don't like the shiny new iPhones or anything that runs Android. Mostly this is because they want a keyboard and the ability to text while driving - some that is not only a bad idea (IMHO) but also illegal - at least in my state. Since this was their biggest complaint (no physical keyboard) we told them to man up and learn how to use Siri / Skyvi and move into the 20th century. As the contracts end we are encouraging our users to select either the iPhone or Android that they like the best. As both interface fine with Exchange anymore that's not an issue. Fighting the BES that has about one patch out of three that are ready to go out of the box, plus the aforementioned outages issues, and adding in the obvious impending failure of RIM as a company, we can't in good consciousness encourage anyone we're responsible for supporting to continue using Blackberries. The handsets are pretty decent (or were anyways - aside from the ongoing "pull the battery to reset the connection" issues) but as a company I cannot see them being around for much longer. Not as a separate entity that hasn't been swallowed by another company at any rate. When their reaction to being the third highest selling handset manufacturer (having been number one for some years) is to hire a new marketing chief (as opposed to actually fixing some of the issues with their hardware / software systems) I pretty much wrote them off right then and there...

I agree .. Blackberry is a powerful tool that can be protected from prying eyes by killing a device that has been lost and can easily be controlled

Apple and Android of no such devices and I would not trust my personal data to Open Source development such as the Android dveices to many people writing for it

RIM has strict guidelines software developers need to follow

hmmmm let's see, iPhones can be forced by exchange to have a password set to the screen lock so they have to enter a password to get into the device AND if the device is lost or stolen I can easily send a wipe command to the iPhone to completely wipe the device. AND Apple also has guidelines as to the apps you write for it. they will not allow an app on their network without them first approving it. So your points are completely lost. AND I don't have to pay a ton of money for a Crackberry server OR Crackberry client licenses for each phone... 1996 is looking for their phones back.

These are all very logical reasons that Blackberry is "better". If decisions were made with just these considerations in mind, one might indeed see a light at the end of the tunnel for BB. Unless they had an astonishingly different product ready to go right now (and they don't), then the game is already over.

Here, our General Manager hated the BB, and when the extended outage happened, it was all the motivation necessary to decree that we will use iPhones from now on (ease of user interface was cited as a strong factor in the choice).

You make an interesting point about apps, but doesn't this ignore reality? Making personal phone calls, using internet access for personal matters, and yes, using smart phones for personal communications or entertainment are de facto costs of doing business and keeping employees. Most people expect this, and how much you wanna bet that places that still use BB are already dealing with BYOD anyway, even for employees who are issued a BB?

Having finally dumped my last BB of the 3 dozen or so I have supported over the last few years I must disagree.

Android and IPhones both use activesync over SSL. They are secure and reliable. I no case have I ever seen a central system failure take down all the android or iphone devices worldwide. Only RIM can do that so I guess there is something they have exclusivity at in that regard.

I can remotely manage/wipe my devices just as easily as I could with the (expensive and poorly designed) BES.

The last time I had a user install an app that sucked both his battery and his memory dry it was on a BB storm. I think it was an RSS reader or something. Yes, they have less apps available but as a percentage, it seems just as many are crap. I might also mention that characterizing less apps as an advantage is a bit of a stretch.

Just my opinion, of course. If you are happy with them, more power to you.